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Two Afghans killed during protest

Two protesters were killed by the Afghan army on Sunday as it broke up a crowd demonstrating over now-cancelled plans by the pastor of a small US church to hold a Koran burning, an official said.

The protest followed a threat by the Dove World Outreach Centre in Florida to burn copies of the Koran to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The church's Pastor Terry Jones abandoned the plan after pleas from US President Barack Obama, the Vatican and other world leaders.

"We tried to convince demonstrators that they would not burn Koran, but the demonstrators were not convinced and attacked us," said Mohammad Amin Rahim, the governor of Baraki Barak district in eastern Afghanistan.

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The crowd of 200 to 300 set three police checkpoints on fire, broke the windows of a business centre and tried to occupy the governor's office, he said.

"Police shot in the air but that could not stop them. Afghan army intervened and opened fire at the demonstrators. Two of them were killed and four wounded," Rahim told AFP.

The demonstrators held up white flags bearing the slogan "God is greater" and chanted slogans against the US, President Barack Obama and the "puppet" government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

One of the demonstrators, Mohammad Ifhaq, condemned a "conspiracy of infidels against Muslims".

In the capital of remote northern Badakhshan on Saturday about 600 people staged a short protest, chanting anti-foreigner and anti-US slogans.

The protesters returned to the scene of Friday's violent protests outside a small NATO outpost in Fayzabad city, where rock-throwing resulted in injuries to eight people, including four police officers, officials said.

The minor protests coincided with the ninth anniversary of the attacks on the United States by Islamist extremists who flew planes into buildings in New York and Washington, killing almost 3000 people.

About a dozen protests erupted across the country on Friday, the first day of the Eid holiday marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month.

World leaders had warned of the provocative nature of the planned Koran burning, and after a back-and-forth lasting several days Jones -- whose congregation numbers about 50 -- said on Saturday it would not happen.